Southern IPM blog posts

Funded by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

The Southern Region IPM Center is located at North Carolina State University, 1730 Varsity Drive, Suite 110, Raleigh, NC 27606, and is sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers a number of ways for the public to participate in and comment on regulatory actions that the agency proposes to take regarding the registration and review of pesticides.

Opportunities for Public Comment

Open for Comment –This link provides a list of all the notifications and proposed regulatory actions sponsored by EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs currently available for public comment. Included in this list are registration actions and re-registration and registration review actions.

Pesticide Active Ingredients in Registration Review and Reregistration Programs – These lists include all of the pesticide active ingredients that EPA is required by law to review to ensure that they meet current scientific and regulatory standards.

Under the Reregistration Program, EPA was directed to complete Reregistration Eligibility Decisions or REDs for all older pesticides. With stakeholder and public involvement, EPA completed the last REDs in 2008. EPA continues to implement these decisions through label amendments another other means.

Opportunities for Public Involvement

Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee – This Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committee provides a forum for a diverse group of stakeholders to provide feedback to the pesticide program on various pesticide regulatory, policy and program implementation issues. The Committee meets two to three times a year and all meetings are open to the public.

Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) – The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) is composed of biologists, statisticians, toxicologists and other experts who provide independent scientific advice to the EPA on a wide-range of health and safety issues related to pesticides. These meetings are open to the public and announced on this webpage and in the Federal Register.

Guidance to Submit a Pesticide Petition

A petition could be a request from any source that EPA act on tolerances, registrations, or rulemaking.

When submitting, include the following in your petition:

the name and mailing address of the petitioner and other contact information, such as an email address, a fax number, and a telephone number;

an explanation of the action you are requesting (policy change, commencement of a rulemaking, amendment to an existing regulation, or deregulation) and its purpose; and

specific information supporting the request.

After we have determined that a request is a petition and the petition is under review, we will contact the petitioner in writing to acknowledge receipt and conduct any other relevant communications.

Additionally, state lead agencies work cooperatively with the U.S. EPA to enforce federal pesticide regulations, respond to potential concerns, and offer additional information and support. For more information on the state’s role in pesticide matters as well as individual state agency contact information visit State and Territorial Pesticide Agencies.